Somos FCC N27

of Valladolid to obtain ectoin, as it is a protein with great osmoprotective quali- ties and highly valued in the cosmetics sector for creams. What professional profiles work at the Las Dehesas Biomethanisation plant? An industrial plant of these characteris- tics requires a highly qualified multidis - ciplinary team due to the complexity of the systems and processes. As a team, we have to deal with pro- blems on a daily basis which, in addi- tion to knowledge, require important skills such as problem identification, problem solving and decision making, team management, conflict resolution, risk identification. We are now a mature squad with a great knowledge and ability to face any challenge that comes our way and that is very valuable. I am very proud of the team we have put together and I have full confidence in them. Do you find yourself in an exciting and challenging environmental mo- ment? On the one hand, the biogas and bio- methane market is experiencing strong momentum driven by the quest for de- carbonisation, greater energy indepen- dence and the circular economy. The European directives are in favour of anaerobic digestion as the most sui- table process for the recovery of orga- nic matter, as it allows the production of biogas and gives rise to digestate which, after maturing, is converted into high quality compost. In the coming years, the implementa- tion of separate collection of organic waste in many municipalities will lead to new projects for such plants. On the other hand, we face a major challenge in waste management: digi- talisation. Our immediate challenge at the plant is the evolution towards grea- ter automation and digitisation of pro- cesses, taking advantage of tools such as big data and artificial intelligence. Sensorisation of the process and mass data collection during anaerobic di- gestion will allow us to gain a detailed understanding of the biomethanisation process and to analyse the key factors and their interrelationships in order to increase the efficiency of the process. At the plant we have highly specialised profiles and we always have the techni - cal support of FCC Medio Ambiente’s Waste Treatment Department. We are agronomists, industrial, envi- ronmental, chemical and public works engineers, physicists, mechanical FP, electricity, administration, laboratory, etc. However, the most important thing is theexperiencewehaveacquiredover the last 14 years, during which we have had to face all kinds of problems. We have learned from our many successes and above all from our mistakes. Since you started working in this field, how has the incorporation of women in this type of work im- proved? In 2009, when I joined the team, I was the only woman working in the plant. Today there are 15 of us (18%) and we occupy positions as diverse as tippers, polishers, electricians, laboratory tech- nicians, gardening, cleaning, R&D en- gineer and management. Women continue to progressively join the workforce and are fully integrated into the team. In the centre of the picture Aránzazu, together with the Las Dehesas plant team. P E O P L E P E O P L E 20